❓ Mr Britza asks about the MyCouncil website and how his community can access it to compare the City of Bayswater's finances with other local governments. The Minister responds, highlighting the website's benefits for ratepayers and providing data on its usage and the City of Bayswater's spending.
AnsweredQoN 379Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MYCOUNCIL
WEBSITE — CITY OF BAYSWATER
379. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Local Government:
Before asking my question, I want to
acknowledge the students in the public gallery from the Geraldton Senior
College, in the electorate of the member for Geraldton.
I have been interested to see how
the City of Bayswater's finances compare with those of local
governments around it, especially using the recently launched MyCouncil
website. Could the minister update the house on how my community, and also
community members, can access this site and gain the advantage of it?
WEBSITE — CITY OF BAYSWATER
379. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Local Government:
Before asking my question, I want to
acknowledge the students in the public gallery from the Geraldton Senior
College, in the electorate of the member for Geraldton.
I have been interested to see how
the City of Bayswater's finances compare with those of local
governments around it, especially using the recently launched MyCouncil
website. Could the minister update the house on how my community, and also
community members, can access this site and gain the advantage of it?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Morley for
his question and his interest in his local government. The member is referring
to the MyCouncil webpage that was launched last month. It has been a fantastic
tool for ratepayers and the community as a whole to see how their local
governments are operating. It is a very good tool, especially right now as we
head into a rate rise coming up with budgets being set by local governments and
rate notices being calculated with their differential rates. There is an
opportunity for ratepayers to go onto the webpage and see where their money is
being spent. They can quite clearly see everything to do with roads, rates,
rubbish and, more importantly, governance.
The webpage has been accessed by
over 76 000 people; close to 500 people a day are clicking on the website to
have a look. It is interesting to see the demographics of those looking, and
the areas they come from. The member for Mandurah would be interested to know
that over 1 200 people from his electorate have clicked on the City of Mandurah
to have a look.
Mr
D.A. Templeman : They were all me!
Mr
A.J. SIMPSON : There you are—the member has been working hard!
More importantly, the member as an
ex-councillor would know that it is very important to be able to keep an eye on
this to make sure it is comparative with where we need to be. Local government
is big business. Last year, $1.9 billion in rates was collected by 138 local
governments—just under $2 billion of ratepayer money was collected.
That is big business. Local governments look after $40 billion worth of assets
and employ 16 000 full‑time staff. The important part is that ratepayers
have access to information about where their rates are being spent, and how
much of their money is being put into wages, employment and so forth. An
important part of what we are trying to do here is ensure accountability and
transparency of local governments on where their money is being spent. It is
important to also keep in mind the $280 million that comes through the
financial assistance grants that help out local governments in their day-to-day
running. There is much talk about what the grants commission gives to local
governments to make sure that we can keep them sustainable.
Member for Morley, from the
perspective of the City of Bayswater, 37 per cent of its operating budget, or
just over $27 million, is spent on recreation and culture, including community
halls, recreation centres, libraries and parks, and 15 per cent, or just over
$11 million, on education and welfare, including services to children and youth
services. It is a very good local government, and the member for Morley can be
very proud of it. More importantly, I cannot emphasise enough that this is a time
for local governments to have a look at what their community needs are, and
make sure they are reflective. We are looking at the moment at a consumer price
index rise of just under two per cent. The local government index is 0.7 per
cent, which is the cost of doing business for local governments. The increase
in costs of materials, wages and labour is 0.7 per cent on the sector this
year, so I am making sure that local governments reflect that in their rate
increases this year as they move forward, and ratepayers have access to a webpage
that explains where their money is going. It is an opportunity for them to ask
questions about how their money is being spent.
his question and his interest in his local government. The member is referring
to the MyCouncil webpage that was launched last month. It has been a fantastic
tool for ratepayers and the community as a whole to see how their local
governments are operating. It is a very good tool, especially right now as we
head into a rate rise coming up with budgets being set by local governments and
rate notices being calculated with their differential rates. There is an
opportunity for ratepayers to go onto the webpage and see where their money is
being spent. They can quite clearly see everything to do with roads, rates,
rubbish and, more importantly, governance.
The webpage has been accessed by
over 76 000 people; close to 500 people a day are clicking on the website to
have a look. It is interesting to see the demographics of those looking, and
the areas they come from. The member for Mandurah would be interested to know
that over 1 200 people from his electorate have clicked on the City of Mandurah
to have a look.
Mr
D.A. Templeman : They were all me!
Mr
A.J. SIMPSON : There you are—the member has been working hard!
More importantly, the member as an
ex-councillor would know that it is very important to be able to keep an eye on
this to make sure it is comparative with where we need to be. Local government
is big business. Last year, $1.9 billion in rates was collected by 138 local
governments—just under $2 billion of ratepayer money was collected.
That is big business. Local governments look after $40 billion worth of assets
and employ 16 000 full‑time staff. The important part is that ratepayers
have access to information about where their rates are being spent, and how
much of their money is being put into wages, employment and so forth. An
important part of what we are trying to do here is ensure accountability and
transparency of local governments on where their money is being spent. It is
important to also keep in mind the $280 million that comes through the
financial assistance grants that help out local governments in their day-to-day
running. There is much talk about what the grants commission gives to local
governments to make sure that we can keep them sustainable.
Member for Morley, from the
perspective of the City of Bayswater, 37 per cent of its operating budget, or
just over $27 million, is spent on recreation and culture, including community
halls, recreation centres, libraries and parks, and 15 per cent, or just over
$11 million, on education and welfare, including services to children and youth
services. It is a very good local government, and the member for Morley can be
very proud of it. More importantly, I cannot emphasise enough that this is a time
for local governments to have a look at what their community needs are, and
make sure they are reflective. We are looking at the moment at a consumer price
index rise of just under two per cent. The local government index is 0.7 per
cent, which is the cost of doing business for local governments. The increase
in costs of materials, wages and labour is 0.7 per cent on the sector this
year, so I am making sure that local governments reflect that in their rate
increases this year as they move forward, and ratepayers have access to a webpage
that explains where their money is going. It is an opportunity for them to ask
questions about how their money is being spent.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.